Spinach: The Food that Made Popeye Great

It wasn't until my wife made creamed spinach that I really realized what I was missing.

I used to love to watch Popeye. It was great to watch him in action after he ate his spinach. I'm sure many parents used Popeye to assure their children that if they ate spinach they would be like him. As for me, my parents didn't like spinach, so I never had to worry about it.

It wasn't until my wife made creamed spinach that I really realized what I was missing. Now spinach is a fashion food. You are considered in the "in" crowd if you include it your menus.

It was considered a very high source of iron, as well as Vitamins A and C. But because spinach contains oxalic acid, which prevents the body from absorbing calcium and iron, its nutrition value is somewhat diminished.

Spinach may be used raw, in salads, or cooked / boiled / sautéed and used as a vegetable or as part of a dish. Fresh spinach is available almost all of the year. Choose leaves that are crisp and dark green with a nice fragrance.

Quick roast and peel pepper. Cut roasted peppers into 1/2 " wide strips. In a small bowl whisk together honey, mustard, and vinegar. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified, and season with salt and black pepper. Roasted peppers and vinaigrette may be prepared 2 days ahead and chilled separately, covered.

In a large bowl toss roasted peppers and spinach with vinaigrette and salt and black pepper to taste.

In a bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste and add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Dressings may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.

Drain onion in a colander and pat dry. Quarter tomatoes and in a large bowl toss with onion, sprouts, spinach, and dressing.

Makes 8 servings.

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ALL-STAR HERB SALAD

This recipe is taken from: "Patricia Wells at Home in Provence"

Rather than making herbs part of a green salad, why not make these fresh, flavorful greens THE salad? When tarragon is fresh in the market or your garden overflows with this extraordinarily powerful herb, why not serve it with honor as a salad on its own? The idea really is to mix and match judiciously. Just don't use so many herbs that they lose their personality. Good combinations include parsley, mint and tarragon. Or consider an all-mint salad to accompany grilled lamb, an all-tarragon salad to accompany grilled chicken. Other herbs that can be added to the following salad mix include a very judicious addition of hyssop, sage, chervil, and marjoram. Just be sure to include leaves only - no cheating - leaving all the stems behind!

In a large, shallow salad bowl, whisk together the vinegars and salt. Whisk in the oil and pepper. Taste for seasoning. Add all the herb leaves and toss to evenly coat the greens with the dressing. Taste for seasoning. Serve in small portions as an accompaniment to roast chicken or grilled or poached fish.

Variation:

The dressed salad can also be placed, open-face-sandwich-fashion, on top of grilled bread that has brushed with olive oil.

Makes 4-6 servings.

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LEMON COUSCOUS SALAD WITH SPINACH, SCALLIONS, AND DILL

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

In a saucepan bring water to a boil and stir in couscous and salt. Remove pan from heat and let couscous stand, cover 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork and transfer to taste and cool couscous completely. Stir in spinach, scallions, and dill and chill salad, covered, at least 2 hours or overnight.

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About the Author

Chef Herschel prepares hundreds of meals a day at Aish HaTorah’s World Center in Jerusalem. He caters the five star meals for the Jerusalem Fund missions as well as the daily food for the Yeshiva students. Before arriving at Aish HaTorah Jerusalem, he received his B.A. in Business administration and his M.A. in education. While working at Aish he completed a chef’s course in Jerusalem.

I’ve been dating a young woman for the past two years and we are starting to think about marriage. The problem is that she is not Jewish. I would want her to convert, but in a way where there would be no doubt about its validity, so that we and our kids don’t have problems later on. How do you recommend that I proceed?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

I appreciate your desire to do the right thing and proceed in an authentic way.

The process of conversion is challenging and involves a process of a year or two. This benefits the person converting, to ensure he fully appreciates the responsibilities he is taking on.

According to the Code of Jewish Law (Shulchan Aruch), a valid conversion replicates the experience at Mount Sinai of 3,300 years ago, when the Jewish nation accepted the Torah. For your friend to convert, she must:

believe that Judaism is the true religion, not just accept it by default

study what it says in the Torah

commit to observe all the Torah's commandments

Further, a conversion must be motivated for the sincere purpose of getting close to God and His Torah, not for ulterior motives. Thus, your friend would have to embrace Judaism and the Torah for its own sake, not in order to marry you. She should have the exact same desire to convert even with you entirely out of the picture.

If your friend studies Judaism and feels it is right for her, she would then approach an Orthodox conversion court and explain her situation. The court would then decide if it feels she is a sincere candidate for conversion. If yes, she would begin the lengthy process of studying and practicing to become a true convert.

Of course, to have a successful relationship, you will also need a high level of appreciation and commitment to Judaism. Perhaps you could begin your own study program to discover how Torah values enhance our lives and form the bedrock of civilization.

You should endeavor to live near a Jewish community which has adult education programs, rabbis you can consult with, Shabbat hospitality programs, etc.

In 1273 BCE (Jewish year 2488), Moses completed his farewell address to the Jewish people, and God informed Moses that the day of his death was approaching (Deut. 31:14). Amazingly, the anniversary of Moses' completing his teaching coincides with the date in 1482 of the first printing of the standard format used for Jewish Bibles today: vowel signs, accents, translation (Targum), and Rashi commentary.

Lack of gratitude is at the root of discontent. In order to be consistently serene, we must master the attribute of being grateful to the Creator for all His gifts. As the Torah (Deuteronomy 26:11) states, "Rejoice with all the good the Almighty has given you." This does not negate our wanting more. But it does mean that we have a constant feeling of gratitude since as long as we are alive, we always have a list of things for which to be grateful.

[Solomon] was wiser than all men (I Kings 5:11), even wiser than fools (Midrash).

What does the Midrash mean by "wiser than fools"?

A man of means was once a Sabbath guest at the home of the Chofetz Chaim. He insisted upon paying the sage in advance for the Sabbath meals - an insulting demand. To everyone's surprise, the Chofetz Chaim accepted the money.

After the Sabbath the Chofetz Chaim forced the guest to take the money back. He explained, "Had I refused to accept the money before the Sabbath, the thought that he was imposing upon me might have distracted from the man's enjoying the spirit of the Sabbath. Although it was foolish of him to feel this way, I wished to put his mind at rest."

Not everyone thinks wisely all the time. Some people have foolish ideas. Yet if we oppose them, they may feel they have been wronged. Insisting on the logic of our own thinking may not convince them in the least. In such instances, it may require great wisdom to avoid offending someone, yet not submitting to his folly.

By accepting his guest's money, knowing that he would return it to him after the Sabbath, the Chofetz Chaim wisely accommodated this man's whim without compromising on his own principles.

A wise person may be convinced by a logical argument, but outsmarting a fool truly requires genius.

Today I shall...

try to avoid offending people whom I feel to be in the wrong, without in any way compromising myself.

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